IRISH GARDENING. 



127 



and the floor made clean. Eventhing; about rrnit in 

 store should be sweet. .Anything- with a disagreeable 

 odour taints the fruit, therefore should not be allowed 

 near where stored. 



Ge.\er.\l Re.m.\rks. — The strawberry crop now 

 coming to a close has been, on the whole, fairly good, 

 though not up to the average of the past few years, 

 the constant rains experienced for past month seriously 

 interfering with its quality ; heavy rains, too, being 

 responsible for the dirty appearance of quantities of 

 them. People who do not lay down straw to preserve 

 them must lose considerably by having soil washed on 

 to the fruit. Raspberries are doing well, and will be a 

 fair crop. Gooseberries, where free from mildew, are 

 doing well and are carrying enormous crops. Black 

 currants, too, are a fine crop. Apples are now swelling 

 up fast, the recent rains benefiting them considerably. 

 .Most varieties are a very heavy crop, though some 

 varieties are a poor crop in this district. 



It maj- interest your readers to know the present 

 price offered here for fruit: — Strawberries, 2d. to 3d. 

 per lb. ; black currants, 24s. to 27s. per cwt. ; goose- 

 berries, 4s. to 6s. per cwt. : raspberries, 3d. per lb. 



The Kitchen Garden. 



By JAME.S 15r.\CKE.N', Horticultural Instructor, Co. Cork. 



THE kitchen garden this month will be full of 

 interest. We have arrived at a time when the 

 results of the season's work can be estimated. 

 Successes and failures ought now to be noted and the 

 causes set down in writing, with the varieties of seeds 

 and sources of these stocks as having been suitable or 

 otherwise. .August is also a month when we must look 

 forw'ard to yet another coming season, for our spring 

 supply of vegetables depends on present forethought 

 and preparations. 



There is little seed-saving in most gardens now, as 

 the time and space are generally more economically 

 spent otherw-ise, but particularly fine strains of any 

 variety are sometimes worth perpetuating b\' saving the 

 seeds, since some people can badly afford to purchase 

 choice varieties every year. This matter requires 

 judgment and some knowledge. It ought to be 

 remembered that the function of bearing and ripening 

 seeds is the most distressing period on the growth of 

 plants and the greatest drain on the land for plant-food. 

 On this account, any such crops as lettuce, turnips, 

 cauliflower, &c., not intended for seed ought to be 

 removed from the ground before advancing into the 

 flowering stage, and the flowers of onions, beet, &c. , 

 be broken out short when they start. Started carrots 

 may be removed forthwith. Allowing crops to encumber 

 the ground after their use is over, as well as the loss of 

 plant-food, the waste of space, and the untidiness, also 

 increases the danger of perpetuating diseases and 

 insect pests. 



.Spent peas ought to be removed, as otherwise they may 

 spread mildew. Early potatoes should be lifted before 

 developing blight, and the medium-sized tubers of the 

 best producing stalks .stored for the present in sprouting 

 boxes in a cool shed for seed. In this matter of 

 selection for "seed," potatoes often fare badly, as the 



seed generally used is gathered haphazard when the 

 crop is all lifted. When seed is saved from onions or 

 Brussels sprouts, or broccoli, or from any other species 

 of vegetable, care is invariably taken to select only the 

 very best of its kind ; not so with potatoes, the stalks 

 that yield the best produce are seldom separated from 

 the mass, and yet it is reasonable to think that "like 

 follows like " more in the case of tubers than in that of 

 seeds which are the product of two sexe.s. We hear 

 much about the degeneration of varieties of the potato ; 

 w^e hardly hear enough about the carelessness com- 

 mitted in the selection of the noble tuber for seed. 



General Work.— It goes without saying that all 

 crops requiring to be watered or fed with liquid manure 

 must have this attention or be the worse for the omission. 

 During the first week of the month the last of the late 

 celery should be got out in trenches, and also, if not 

 completed, finish putting out spring broccoli without 

 delay. Plant leeks for early spring use. Late celery and 

 leeks come at a time when other vegetables are often 

 scarce, and these should be given a fair breadth where 

 space permits. Cut vegetable marrows while in a 

 young state ; these are then best for cooking, and the 

 plants continue to bear more freely. For the like rea- 

 sons, ridge and other cucumbers should not be allowed 

 to remain too long before cutting. Plant out endive 

 one foot apart every way, and where a succession must 

 be maintained make a last sowing. Cut herbs for dry- 

 ing, and dry slowly in a cool shed. Make another 

 solving of prickly spinach in a sunny aspect, and again 

 in the middle of the month. Sowings of turnips made 

 about the middle of the month will stand in the ground 

 and give good flavoured roots for winter and spring 

 use. Sow varieties recommended in last month's 

 calendar. Continue to plant out winter greens and 

 dwarf savoy and cauliflower for small heads at the end 

 of the season. Thick-necked onions require to be 

 turned down to hasten ripeness. Lose not a day in 

 harvesting onions when the growth is complete — which 

 is known by the leaves turning yellow. If rain makes 

 it necessary, dry the crop, raise on nets or mats in an 

 open shed, and hank before putting in store. For 

 onions to keep the crop must be harvested with care 

 and judgment. Cultivate between crops of savoy, 

 Brussells sprouts, &c., as it is required, by fork or hoe, 

 and make sure that no weeds are allowed to seed. 



Lettlce. — Make sowings of lettuce about the begin- 

 ning, middle, and towards the end of the month. Some 

 of the first sowing may come into use at the close of the 

 year according to the weather. The other sowings 

 stand over winter for spring use. These sowings should 

 be made in a sunny aspect in friable rich soil. Sow 

 thinly in lines about one foot apart, as crowded plants 

 winter badly ; some of these will be transplanted as they 

 become fit during September ; the remainder occupy 

 the seed-bed till spring. Good varieties for autumn 

 sowings are Hammersmith Hardy Green ; .All the Year 

 Round for cabbage lettuce ; Brown Cos is also suitable. 

 Cai-liflowers. — Make sowings of cauliflowers from 

 the middle to the end of the month. These sowings 

 should be made in well prepared soil and in a sunny 

 aspect. If necessary water the soil before sowing, and 

 shade with mats or evergreens until the seed germi- 

 nates, but reniove shading immediately the plants are 



